Voices in the Mountain by Linda Manning

STORY SUMMARY

Running under the shadows of a wizard’s taloned abominations, the surviving ranks of a peaceful village struggle with their own identities.

Amellya awakens to the reality of a wizard’s spell. Now a she-wolf among the villagers, re-born of warrior blood, she is cursed to live in the feral captivity of a dog’s body. Survival and loss follow her through a landscape governed by mysticism and treachery, a dark land visited by the haunting cries of enslaved children.

Under the mountain of Tauriseth, the spirit of the werewolf finds its ultimate challenge.

EXCERPT

Lying there, you are at peace.  From this war that would claim your life, you are at last set free from bondage.  But that is only if I let you die.

I will remember the last time I saw you in pure humanity, before the spell was cast, damning you to live out your days as a dog, damning your offspring to also suffer the curse of the wolf.  But you refused to marry again, to bear more slaves for Tauriseth, even if they should be dogs . . .

I will remember the freedom that lived within your spirit.  Standing on the cliffs of Subria, your silver hair blowing with the breath of the sea, your golden eyes spoke of the heights attainable by a culture built on peace.  But Tauriseth has beaten you.  His magic has proven more powerful than the armies of your father, the might of your husband, or the resolve of your people.  Your only human son he has caged for his service.  We are beaten now, but you can be freed from living damnation – if only I would let you die.

Their bodies littered the meadow where the children had once played.  Soldiers for peace – for the development of Subrian culture and the kinship that had grown between the provinces – now lay headless, half-eaten and cut to pieces on a blood-soaked field where no blooms dared to open.

AUDIO EXCERPT:

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narrated by Bob Eccles
 

AUTHOR BIO

Linda Manning, both a writer and poet, lives in the American Midwest. As managing editor of Aurora Wolf Literary Magazine of Science Fiction and Fantasy, she has been involved in the publication of six anthologies including The New Fairy Tales Anthology.

Her work spans the genres from literary to horror to fantasy. Her short story “The Visitor,” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2010, and her flash fiction piece “Inside Outside” was nominated for the Third Annual Micro Fiction Award.

You can read more about Linda and her work at http://lindamanning.wordpress.com